# Paul Hanson

Paul Hanson is an American bassoonist, saxophonist, duduk player, and composer with roots in jazz and classical music.

## Music career

Paul Hanson was born in San Francisco, CA, on October 28, 1961. His parents were both musicians: his mother a classical pianist and his father a music teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District. In high school, Hanson performed in the Young People's Symphony Orchestra (YPSO) and participated in a concerto competition curated by the San Francisco Symphony. He won the competition in the woodwinds division, receiving the Pepsi Young Musician Award. At the young age of seventeen, Hanson recorded alto saxophone on the album Pillars by Peter Apfelbaum & the Hieroglyphics Ensemble. Since then, his career has expanded vastly into multiple genres. He has performed with Cirque du Soleil, who had created a role specifically for him in the show ZED.
Hanson has received various awards. The National Endowment of the Arts awarded Hanson with a jazz performance grant in 1995. He was the Robert Mondavi Concerto Competition winner as a student in 1984. With Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, he recorded Outbound, which won a Grammy in 2000. Hanson was the Grand Prize winner of JAZZIZ Magazine's Woodwinds on Fire award in 1995. Hanson has taught numerous master classes worldwide, including Ithaca College, Penn State University, Arizona State University, Oklahoma University, University of Wisconsin, Memphis State University, University of Northeastern Oklahoma, University of Arkansas, and Portland State University-all, specializing in modern performance techniques and improvisation for double reed instruments. Hanson has also taught privately in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Hanson has performed and recorded with the likes of:
* Abraham Laboriel
* Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
* Billy Childs
* Billy Cobham
* Billy Higgins
* Brian Blade
* Charlie Hunter
* Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra
* Craig Erikson
* David Binney
* DAVKA
* Dennis Chambers
* Eddie Money
* Jeff Denson
* Jeff Sipe
* Joel Harrison
* Jonas Hellborg
* Kai Eckhardt
* Karen Blixt
* King Baldwin
* Medeski Martin & Wood
* Miguel Zenón
* Napa Symphony Orchestra
* Oakland Eastbay Symphony Orchestra
* Oaktown Irawo
* Omar Sosa
* Patrice Rushen
* Pat Senatore
* Peter Apfelbaum
* Peter Erskine
* Randy Brecker
* Ray Charles
* Raze the Maze
* Rob Wasserman
* SF Jazz
* St. Joseph Ballet Company
* The Klezmorim
* The Paul Dresher Ensemble
* Sawalé
* T Lavitz
* Victor Wooten
* Wayne Shorter
Hanson has performed alongside great musicians and led his solo bassoon show and the Paul Hanson Quintet ‒ both internationally performing ensembles.

## Discography

| Album | Record Label | Year Released |
| The Last Romantics | | 1994 |
| Astro Boy Blues | Moo | 1997 |
| Voodoo Suite | Manzanita Ranch Music | 2000 |
| Frolic in the Land of Plenty | Abstract Logix | 2008 |
| New Days | Blue Coast Records | 2019 |
| Calliope | Manzanita Ranch Music | 2024 |

### Appears On

| Album | Artist | Year Released |
| Pillars | Peter Apfelbaum | 1979 |
| Can't Hold Back | Eddie Money | 1986 |
| Toni Childs | Union | 1988 |
| Kotoja | Sawalé | 1994 |
| Pasquale | Billy Childs and Pat Senatore | 1995 |
| When Groove Was King | What It is | 1996 |
| Funky Cubonics | Omar Sosa and Oaktown Irawo | 1998 |
| Range of Motion | Joel Harrison | 1999 |
| Outbound | Béla Fleck and the Flecktones | 2000 |
| Live at the Quick | Béla Fleck and the Flecktones | 2002 |
| The Golem | DAVKA | 2004 |
| Timeless | Jeff Sipe | 2004 |
| Cosmic Farm | Craig Erikson, T Lavitz, Jeff Sipe, and Rob Wasserman | 2005 |
| DAVKA Live | DAVKA | 2005 |
| Sipe, Hanson, and Hellborg | Jeff Sipe, Jonas Hellborg, Paul Hanson | 2005 |
| Temple of the Invisible | Robert Rich | 2005 |
| VU | Zenith Patrol | 2005 |
| Mad Hope | Karen Blixt feat. Randy Brecker and Patrice Rushen | 2008 |
| Polaris | OoN | 2014 |
| Concentric Circles | Jeff Denson Quartet | 2015 |
| Spirit House | Joel Harrison | 2015 |
| Pictures at an Exhibition | King Baldwin | 2018 |
| Producer's Choice | Compilation Album | 2018 |
| Kidz These Daze | Casey & The Comrades | 2020 |